Avoid the Number One Tarot Reading Mistake

Take your destiny in your own hands, with a bit of help from the Tarot…

This post is for anyone who has ever been tempted to read on the same question over and over again. (Yes, I’ve done it too!)

Perhaps the fortune-telling scene from Carmen springs to mind… The three women sing about how the cards always come out the same… showing same three fated outcomes: marriage for love to one, marriage for money to another and finally, for Carmen, a love that leads to death and destruction. Yeah, it’s a great scene but that’s not real life, nor is it how a Tarot reading works. Real Tarot readers don’t hand you your fate and expect you to accept it. Real Tarot readers empower you to make better life decisions.

About 30-50% of the questions I decline to  read on are about something I or another reader already did a reading on just the other day or the other week. Reading on the same question over and over again becomes a form of self-soothing to people who read for themselves. For Seekers who do not read for themselves, it can easily cause a psychic or Tarot reading addiction where the Seeker hops from reader to reader until they get the answer they want. The problem is, of course, that even then (due to the many readings and conflicting messages) they can’t trust the hoped for outcome when it does show up.

Unfortunately, in the case of the latter, many so-called psychics are quick to cash in on this nervous disposition in a client. That’s because they only care about the money and feel no duty of care for the client. Most likely, they are not even real readers or psychics but cold-reading charlatans.

People who read on (or ask for readings on) the same question over and over have three or more of the following traits in common:

  • They believe their happiness is entirely dependent on some outside source, thing or person
  • They believe in a high degree of fatedness in life
  • Sometimes, they have a sense of entitlement
  • They do not yet understand how to surrender to Divine Will in the process of manifestation
  • They fail at trust in general and therefore tend to go for psychics who promise the most fixed/fated outcome – that way they have someone to blame if things go wrong or they don’t get their wish
  • More often than not, they have a passive relationship with their destiny instead of being active and willing co-creators
  • When things go wrong, rather than take responsibility and learning from their mistakes, they prefer to apportion blame
  • They have no faith in a Higher Power, or they believe they can trick the Higher Power into giving them what they want
  • They are impatient
  • Sometimes, they confuse happiness with personal pleasure or success, rather than the contentment that comes from a virtuous life which is more concerned with being of service to others
  • They do not understand how the Tarot works
  • They do not understand spiritual laws of cause and effect
  • Finally, they could feel that what they ask about is outside their power to manifest even when this is not the case – This is probably the most insidious belief of all because it puts clients at the complete mercy of charlatans

How the Tarot works and how it is possible to predict anything

You may have heard it said that the future isn’t set in stone. This is true of course. Neither is the weather. Anybody who lives in the UK could tell you that – I often marvel at having five different types of weather in the space of 24 hours since I moved here. Yet, I watch the forecast to get the heads up on the most dominant trends and safest trajectories. On most days, I know how to dress and if not I don’t spend hours blaming BBC weather, I stick my head outside the door instead and dress accordingly.

Just like it is possible to base a weather forecast on past events and current trends, you can usually predict events (in the not too distant future) with a certain amount of accuracy because these events have already set in motion. The Tarot reflects this through a process known as synchronicity, which is an acausal link between seemingly unrelated events. In the Tarot, synchronicity shows up in the visual language of symbols and archetypes. This is the language of Universal Mind, as well as the subconscious mind.

You could say that you tap both minds with the cards and that the reader then acts as a translator of the language of symbols into meaningful messages for the Seeker. The Universal Mind stretches beyond time-space since it is uncreated, whereas time and space are both creations, and this is the reason reader sometimes gets ‘psychic hits’ during a reading. However, beware of anyone who claims to have this ability on tap as they are most likely a charlatan.

Because things are in a trajectory and because reading on the trajectory ruffles its feathers slightly (when you have foresight you may choose to act differently), it is best to not mess with a prediction by reading on it repeatedly.

How to ask a question of the Tarot without angering the gods

Whether or not you believe in a Higher Power, your soul is not here by chance and there is some kind of ‘blueprint’ for your Life Path. However, you also have free will and you are encouraged by Spirit to make the most of this free will at every turn because without it there can be no Love. If you ask what Love would have you do, you are better able to make the right, honourable and life-affirming choices. You could substitute the word Love for ‘Source’ or ‘God’ or ‘The Universe’… it really doesn’t matter. The point is, somebody has your back. You weren’t just dumped here, so have a bit of faith, OK?

When you approach your Tarot Reader, be very clear about what you need to know for yourself and understand that your reader will do their best to predict the outcome for you but that accuracy cannot be guaranteed since it depends on people with free will who can change their minds. Therefore it follows that you are better off focusing on problem-resolution than on prediction.

Provide relevant background information since the trajectory shown by the cards can be better interpreted in light of relevant information. Tarot readers are not mind readers and cannot see your past.

Understand that it is better to set a shorter time frame if predictive accuracy is important to you. Normally, a time frame of 6-8 weeks is healthy and anything longer than that will bring in more unknown variables which may affect the matter at hand. If you want to read on something you know/suspect lies further into the future, read on short-term goals instead and the ‘How…?’ of making your dreams come true.

Do NOT read on the same question again until 6-8 weeks have passed or there has been a significant change in the situation!

Don’t worry if you have been guilty of reading on the same question over and over again recently. Just set the intent to step back and focus your energy on more fruitful pursuits. Watch the thing you worried about endlessly resolve itself within the next few months, while you get on with making your life better.

Those of you who wish to dive deeper into time, fatedness and the fine art of predictive readings, please check out my interview with Benebell Wen.

What are your thoughts on reading on the same question… How long should we wait? Do you find that the same cards appear a lot? Have the cards started messing with you when you’ve repeated your question?

Comments 7

  1. I discovered Benebell recently through other tarot and spiritual types in my circle and I absolutely love her! 😀 <3 So I might mention something additionally for those who read for themselves on their most perplexing issue, and that is to write down your reading on the date you did it. The biggest reason I ever read on the same issue again is because I forget my own readings! I realize it is because I also read for others and it can be challenging to clear the mental static afterward (although I have gotten a lot better about clearing the cards and my light body/energy fields so I won't get pain or illness inadvertently). So while I tell others to carefully record or remember because I won't, I can totally brain-fart for myself! ROFL 😀 Also, I will measure a timing for the next step, and reevaluate if an additional reading is needed and if so, to not do one before that time. Yes, we can shoot ourselves in the foot because our mental bodies interact with the playing out of things and inadvertently alter results in ways we didn't want. I love this post Lisa! <3

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  2. I love this. I think you bring up a lot of points that really drive home the importance of approaching Tarot with a healthy and responsible mindset so that it is a tool for good, rather than straight gratification.

    I do however find myself experimenting with trying different spreads to answer the same or similar question, in order to see if there is any pattern or confirmation of a particular theme or issue that needs to be addressed. Maybe I just do this because I’m still new, but when I do see the repetition of an existing theme, it tends to reassure me that I am on the right track. I guess you could call this the use of combination spreads?

    I try to wait at least a full month before asking the same question the exact same way, though. If I’m really impatient or I do think circumstances have changed enough, I’ll still try to wait at least a week between repeating the spread.

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      As long as you are recognising a pattern and not getting confused (rather than gaining clarity) from trying different spreads, you are probably doing OK and not overdoing it. If you are overdoing it, it will start getting ‘messy’ and ‘sticky’ – Trust your intuition…

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